MATC Public Budget Hearing Shows A $2.5M Deficit For FY 2027 Under President Anthony Cruz, Also, Mostly Part-time Instructors Will Operate Teaching System In 2027

Milwaukee Area Technical College Facing A $2.5M Deficit For 2027

Public Hearing Presentation Of Proposed MATC FY 2027 (June 16, 2026) Budget https://www.youtube.com/live/e7LHiCaU42U

• MATC deficit under Milwaukee Area Technical College President Dr. Anthony Cruz more than doubled from previous predecessor (former MATC President Vickie J. Martin) in 2023 with $1.1M to today under Dr. Cruz at $2.8M in 2026 to an expected deficit of $2.5M in fiscal year 2027.

• Student enrollment at MATC has declined, in several years in 2009-2010 to 2010-2011, MATC had nearly 15,000 full-time equivalent student (FTE) enrollment, compared to date in 2026, 9,200 FTE enrollment.

• A 2% student tuition increase for certificate degree and a 3% increase for an associate degree in 2027 has been approved 

• MATC has a current $80.7M outstanding debt through June 30, 2026

• MATC will operate in 2027 with mostly part-time instructors, according to the budget hearing.

• MATC will also target 108 employees, especially full-time instructors for early retirement or no contract renewal in order to offset the pending deficit for FY 2027

• Elimination of the Office of Multicultural Student Services, and unjustly terminating 4 student services specialists affecting Latino/Hispanic, African-American, Asian-American and Native-American students including communities without their imput, in order to comply with Trump's illegal and unconstitutional executive order eliminating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) race related programs, which multiple federal courts have ruled it was unconstitutional.

• MATC facing multiple employees discrimination complaints with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Equal Rights Division.

• MATC administration under Dr. Cruz has proliferated its hostile work environment including the practice of harassment, discrimination and retaliation against employees and instructors that file complaints or just complain.

• MATC cutting employee wages, but are being forced to work more without wage compensation.

• MATC has an all White male administration who are paid excessive wages, for example, Dr. Cruz gets $285,000 in salary per year with extras perks, eventhough, he has more than doubled the MATC deficit, since 2024.

• MATC President Cruz has ignored the communities of color demands to restore the Office of Multicultural Student Services, and has also failed to provide any particular reason why he continues to ignore the communities of color requests who actually pay his salary.

• MATC Human Resources led by Laquitha “Elle” Bonds-Jones, the Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer under Dr. Cruz cut part-time employees hourly wages without their knowledge and also reduced their sick leave pay. Part-time employees had to be compensated back pay wages and earned sick leave fully pay restored. Also, Bonds-Jones was eventually caught altering MATC policies without the knowledge of the MATC Board of Trustees or the MATC Local 212 union. Dr. Cruz has declined to terminate Bonds-Jones for her alleged misdeeds at the technical college.

• Student enrollment stats intentionally inflated, despite student enrollment decline between 2025 to 2026, according to discovery made by MATC Board of Trustees who learned that misinformation was being provided to them at the April 28, 2026 Board meeting. Presentation by Phillip King, the Executive Vice-President and Provost showed an enrollment decline from 2025 to 2026, but enrollment stats were inaccurately inflated, which multiple MATC Board members criticized Phillip for providing inaccurate student enrollment stats. (MATC Board meeting video time at 2:20:00 minute to 2:50:00 minutes stamp)

• MATC Board of Trustees meeting for Tuesday, April 28, 2026, the first 42 minutes of the meeting were public comments by 11 instructors, students and the MATC Local 212 union regarding their concerns and issues they are facing at MATC under Dr. Cruz's administration, at link: https://www.youtube.com/live/--C91QsctXM

• In less than 2 years at MATC, Dr. Cruz has continuously shown lack of leadership including his lack of ability to resolve major plaguing issues at the technical college, which so far, the inept Board of Trustees have failed to take any action to hold Dr. Cruz accountable.

MATC District Board Meeting: Faculty Raise Serious Concerns — AFT Local 212 https://share.google/ZW1kqIaJGjDePQuIx

Protests at MATC (October 28, 2025): https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1JbKnLLzAh/

Full HNNUSA article: ESL Program On The Chopping Block, Instructors Say MATC Going Backwards Under President Dr. Anthony Cruz, Also Technical College Facing $2.5M Deficit For Fiscal Year 2027 (April 28, 2026) https://tinyurl.com/zy8jz5k5

HNNUSA full article at link: Insight MATC: Lack Of Leadership And Efficiency By President Dr. Anthony Cruz, Technical College Facing Layoffs, Job Eliminations, And Possible Administrative Non-contract Renewals To Offset $2.5M Deficit In 2027 (May 21, 2026) https://tinyurl.com/4snzv3pa

Posted on June 18, 2026

Source: Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

Tribute To The Late Luis Rodolfo López, 1st Bilingual Teacher At South Division High School And Milwaukee Public Schools In The Late 1960's To Early 1970's

Celebrating the Life Of Maestro Luis Rodolfo López at South Division High School in Milwaukee.

By H. Nelson Goodson 

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

June 14, 2026

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - On Saturday, June 13, 2026, members of the Luis Rodolfo López family, friends, South Division High School students (alumni) and MPS Bilingual staff and instructors attended the memorial and life celebration of Maestro López at South Division High School.

Dr. Jóse Trejo, Principal at South Division High School welcomed everyone in attendance, and Alondra García and Gloria González made their presentations in regards to the accomplishments of Maestro López.

Thanks to both Wisconsin State Representative Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (D-Milw) and Wisconsin State Senator Tim Carpenter(D-Milw) for issuing a State citation recognizing the late Luis Rodolfo López for his accomplishments as the First bilingual teacher at South Division High, Milwaukee Public Schools and Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin Association for Bilingual Education (WIABE) sponsored the food and Mariachi tribute performance for the late Luis Rodolfo López at South Division High School.

Mariachi Mexico Internacional performed at the memorial event.

Maestro López was the 1st Bilingual teacher at South Division High, Milwaukee Public Schools and the State of Wisconsin in the late 1960's to early 1970's.

Presentation at link: https://youtu.be/fJWHt5yvP8A

Full video of the Luis R. López' Celebration of Life: https://youtu.be/FFVDGoqgB-s

HNNUSA article: https://hispanicnewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2026/04/luis-rodolfo-lopez-1st-bilingual.html

Photo collection (Facebook) at link: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18XJwNg7tw/

27-year-old Clarissa Morales Found Deceased With A Gunshot Wound At S. 22 And W. Maple Streets In The Southside Of Milwaukee

Morales was found shot inside a vehicle at S. 22 St. and W. Maple Street in the Southside of Milwaukee.

By H. Nelson Goodson 

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

June 9, 2026

WI: On Saturday, June 6, 2026, around 4:56 p.m., Milwaukee police responded to S. 22 Street and W. Maple Street to an apparent shooting where they located Clarissa Morales, 27, inside a vehicle with a gunshot fatal wound. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office was called to the scene. Morales was declared deceased at the scene.

According to a preliminary investigation, residents from nearby the scene discoverd Morales' body inside a vehicle with blood coming out of her mouth, and a handgun in her leg.

Police are reviewing an outdoor video surveillance camera by the scene to determine what happened. So far, Police haven't released any information, if the Morales death involved foul play.

Morales is survived by two young children.

Annual Impromptu Puerto Rico Flag Cruising In the Southside Of Milwaukee Turned Chaotic By Street Takeovers Along W. Historic Mitchell Street, S. 14 And W. Forest Home Ave., According To Police

Multiple individuals were taken into custody and vehicles towed during the annual impromptu Puerto Rico flag cruising in the Southside of Milwaukee, which turned chaotic as usual, resulting in multiple illegal street takeovers.

By H. Nelson Goodson 

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

June 8, 2026

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - On Sunday, June 7, 2026, around 5:53 p.m. Milwaukee police began to close congested streets that were taken over by unruly drivers and pedestrians during the annual impromptu Puerto Rico flag cruising, which caused a chaotic scene that involved burnouts, traffic stops, police pursuits, public intoxication, individuals including men and women hanging out or seating on open vehicle windows and not wearing seatbelts as they drove down the street and a proliferation of reckless driving by vehicles and mini-bikes.

Also, a fight broke out at the 1200 block of W. Historic Mitchell Street between females while an individual in a sports bike was doing donuts and burnouts.

Multiple vehicles were stopped and towed, and multiple individuals were also taken into custody.

Hispanic News Network U.S.A. (HNNUSA) was able to create a collage of Facebook screenshots that media and users posted on social media to see the melee and chaotic street takeovers by individuals displaying the Puerto Rico flag on their vehicles or in their person.

Many of those involved say, that they were just celebrating their culture, but the Puerto Rican culture doesn't have a history of individuals disrespecting their national pride by engaging in lawless and chaotic behavior causing havoc in our predominately Latino community.

In prior years, impromptu Puerto Rico flag cruising had resulted in killings and shootings involving members of the Puerto Rican community.

On Sunday, the Fiesta Puerto Rico 2026 took place at Humboldt Park without any incidents reported by police. The difference between the impromptu Puerto Rico flag cruising and the Fiesta Puerto Rico 2026 is that Fiesta Puerto Rico had a permit to operate legally with security and a safe environment, which the impromptu Puerto Rico flag cruising is unorganized and can very quickly turn chaotic making unsafe for the spectators including  children at the scene.

So far, police haven't reported, if anyone had been shot by W. Historic Mitchell Street, but it's the first time that HNNUSA noticed a Milwaukee police officer carrying an assault rifle at S. 14 Street and W. Forest Home Ave. By the Burger King parking lot.

Did Puerto Ricans posed a threat to Milwaukee police officers, that an officer had to display an assault rifle?

According to police, they were able to finally clear major congested traffic blockages in the Southside and civilian crowds from the W. Historic Mitchell Street area from S. 7 to S. 16 Streets extending from W. Lapham Blvd., W. Forest Home Ave. and to W. Burnham Street by 10:00 p.m. on Sunday night.

Update: According to spectators who want to stay anonymous, police detained one individual driving a black vehicle who was accelerating inside the Burger King parking lot at the 1400 block of W. Forest Home  Ave., and a second man wearing a blue shirt who was recording the arrest. The second man told police officers that they were violating the driver's rights, but police immediately took the man wearing a blue shirt into custody and handcuffed him. The man also suffered an injury to his mouth and lip that caused him to bleed, according to spectators at the scene. Some of the spectators say, that no one at the scene were aggressive against the police and no one was a threat to police, for a Milwaukee police officer to be carrying an assault rifle in the Burger King parking lot. 

Milwaukee police from the 2nd Milwaukee Police District Station hasn't released any information to justify an officer carrying an assault rifle at the Burger King parking lot. But, police have confirmed at least one person was taken into custody during the impromptu Puerto Rico flag cruising by W. Historic Mitchell Street business corridor.

Milwaukee police say that one person was taken into custody, they issued 9 citations and 5 vehicles were towed on Sunday in the Southside of Milwaukee during the impromptu Puerto Rico flag cruising chaotic melee by W. Historic Mitchell Street business district corridor.

Emergency Life Ring Stations Installed At City of Milwaukee Bridge Crossings Along The Milwaukee River

Life preservers installed at City of Milwaukee bridge crossings along the Milwaukee River 

By H. Nelson Goodson 

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

June 4, 2026

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Hispanic News Network U.S.A. (HNNUSA) reported in October 2024 that there were no life preservers (floaters) along the 3 1/2 miles of the Milwaukee River Walk along the river. (HNNUSA Article link: http://hispanicnewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2024/10/the-city-of-milwaukee-has-no-life.html)

HNNUSA noticed that the City of Milwaukee has installed Emergency Life Ring Stations (life preservers) at downtown bridges.

The Late Vocalist And Percussionist Player Cecilio Jóse Negrón Jr. To Be Featured In Mural At The Art Intersection Outdoor Gallery In Milwaukee's Near West Side Neighborhood

Mural showing Negrón Jr. playing the congas will be among 10 canvass art murals to be displayed next week at the Art Intersection Outdoor Gallery, and 6 additional murals will be added at a later date at the outdoor gallery.

By H. Nelson Goodson 

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

June 3, 2026

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - On Wednesday, Derrick Cainion, the Founder and curator for the Art Intersection Outdoor MKE organization confirmed to Hispanic News Network U.S.A. (HNNUSA) that next week, at least 10 art mural canvases (painted in polytab mural cloths) will be installed at the Art Intersection Outdoor Gallery located at N. 35 Street and W. Vliet Street in the Near West Side neighborhood in Milwaukee. One of those canvas murals will include the late vocalist, conga and percussionist player Cecilio Jóse Negrón Jr., 47, who past away in May 2023. According to the Milwaukee Medical Examiner's Office report, Negrón Jr. died of natural causes citing cause of death "Acute Mayocardial Infarct" due to acute coronary artery thrombus and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Negrón Jr. was well known for his love of drums, Latin Jazz and Salsa music. He was the charismatic co-founder percussionist/vocalist for the band De La Buena and on occassion played the Guiro (serrated gourd and played by scraping a stick along its surface) and Bongos (one of a pair of small tuned drums, played by beating with the fingers) along side with his father Cecilio J. Negrón, 73, at local events, who is also a well known local percussionist with the band Caché MKE.

Also in the Negrón Jr. canvas mural, other Latinos and Latinas will be featured by artist Rozalia Hernández-Singh.

A remembrance gathering for Negrón Jr. is scheduled for June 17, 2026 at 3542 W. Vliet Street from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Art Intersection Outdoor Gallery in Milwaukee.

Vacant Dr. Filiberto And Carmen Murguia School Campus Building In The Southside Demolished

The Dr. Filiberto and Carmen Murguia vacant school campus has been demolished at the 1600 S. 36 Street, according to City of Milwaukee records.

By H. Nelson Goodson 

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

June 1, 2026

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - According to City of Milwaukee property assessment records, the vacant Dr. Filiberto and Carmen Murguia Campus (previously a charter school) property was bought by the United Community Center (UCC) in 2023 for $1,300,000, and in March of 2026, both the UCC and D&H Demolition applied for a permit to raze the school and day care vacant building. It has taken at least 3 months to completely demolished the condemned building.

The UCC has not announced any major development project for the property at the 1600 block of S. 36 Street (formerly the Dr. Filiberto and Carmen Murguia Campus) in the Southside.

The campus building had previous owners, in 2010, the Centro Hispano (Council for the Spanish Speaking Inc. - also known as the Spanish Center) renamed the school building as the Filiberto and Carmen Murguia Campus after its former Director Filiberto Murguia, 78, retired. (HNNUSA article link: http://hispanicnewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2010/10/spanish-center-renames-high-school.html)

In 2003, when Dr. Murguia retired from the Centro Hispano, he left a $5,000,000 operating budget. But by 2015 to 2017, when Toni Rivera-Joachin was the executive director, the Centro Hispano lost several major federal funding sources, which led to laying off more than 88 employees, which the Centro Hispano would never recover and it eventually closed operations. (HNNUSA article link: http://hispanicnewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2023/06/the-dr-filiberto-carmen-murguia-campus.html)

Another unfortunate situation where a community as a whole allows a non-profit organization to eventually cease to exist and the loss of community services become a thing of the past, which tragically affects the community it served.

The end of the Dr. Filiberto and Carmen Murguia legacy was inevitable due to those that followed failed to maintain federal funding sources to keep the Centro Hispano and its services afloat.

Sign of the times!